Collapsible tube dispensing mechanism



March 17, 1970 R. E. MAURICE COLLAPSIBLE TUBE DISPENSING MECHANISM 3Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Jan. 2, 1969 FIG! INVENTOR. /?6'/NA0 4-. Mam/csMarch 17, 1970 R. E. MAURICE COLLAPSIBLE TUBE DISPENSING MECHANISM 3Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Jan.

INVENTOR. R'G/NALD E. MAURICE Arrokms'rs March 17, 1970 R. E. MAURICE3,501,054

COLLAPSIBLE TUBE DISPENSING MECHANISM Filed Jan. 2, 1969 5 Sheets-Sheet5 l'llllll 2H ILIIIIII'H:v

INVENTOR. /?6/M4L0 E. Mum/c:

ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3 501,054 COLLAPSIBLE TUBE DISPENSINGMECHANISM Reginald E. Maurice, 58 Ranney St., Springfield, Mass. 01108Filed Jan. 2, 1969, Ser. No. 788,385 Int. Cl. B65d 35/28 US. Cl. 222-40213 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A dispensing mechanism in which theclosed end of an inverted collapisble tube is inserted between a pair offreely vertically mounted, intermittently unidirectionally driven,pressure rollers, whereby the rollers travel linearly down the length ofthe tube in step-wise fashion, inter mittently expelling the contentsthereof through the tube nozzle. The pressure rollers are driven, and avariable, predetermined quantity of material expelled, by pivoting abell crank through an arc of adjustable length. The pressure rollers aremounted so as to spring apart during reloading to facilitate insertingthe collapsible tube therebetween. The mechanism also dispenses thecontents of the tube with a delaying action so that material expelledtherefrom may be removed only during the return stroke of the bellcrank.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION The present invention relatesgenerally to dispensing mechanisms of utility especially in extrudingmaterials packaged in collapsible tubes, and relates more particularlyto certain new and useful improvements in such dispensing mechanisms.

The desirability of mechanical dispensing mechanisms over hand-pressingfor expelling the contents of a collapsible tube has been previouslyrecognized. The numerous prior proposals for such mechanisms, however,have not performed satisfactorily, or have been complicated to use, orexpensive to manufacture and, accordingly, either have not reached, orhave not been accepted by, the general consumer public.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a new andimproved dispensing mechanism.

Another object of this invention is to provide a new and improveddispensing mechanism of utility especially in extruding materialspackaged in collapsible tubes.

Another object of this invention is to provide a new and improveddispensing mechanism for extruding materials packaged in collapsibletubes which eliminates the aforementioned disadvantages of the priorproposals for such dispensing mechanisms.

Another object of this invention is to provide a new and improveddispensing mechanism which is economical to manufacture, rugged inconstruction, efficient in operation, and easily used by both childrenand adults.

Another object of this invention is to provide a dispensing mechanismwhich is capable of dispensing material with equal facility fromcollapsible tubes of greatly varying size.

Another object of this invention is to provide a new and improveddispensing mechanism which is capable of dispensing the entire contentsof a collapsible tube at regulable, predetermined amounts from tubes ofgreatly varying size and of dispensing such amounts uniformly throughoutthe length of the tube.

Another object of this invention is to provide a new and improveddispensing mechanism which is capable of dispensing the contents of acollapsible tube completely free of any smearing of the contents on thenozzle of the tube and, when used to dispense toothpaste onto a tooth-3,501,054 Patented Mar. 17, 1970 brush, also completely free of anysmearing of the toothpaste on the brush bristles.

Objects and advantages of the invention are set forth in part herein andin part will be obvious herefrom, or may be learned by practice with theinvention, the same being realized and attained by means of theinstrumentalities and combinations pointed out in the appended claims.

The invention consists in the novel parts, constructions, arrangements,combinations and improvements herein shown and described.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Briefly described, the present invention isdirected to a new and improved dispensing mechanism for extruding avariable, predetermined amount of material from a collapsible tube, ofparticular usefulness for dispensing toothpaste onto a toothbrush.

The collapsible toothpaste tube is mounted in an inverted position withthe closed end inserted between a pair of knurled pressure rollersmounted to a support plate which is freely verticallly slidable in asupporting frame. The pressure rollers are unidirectionally rotated inintermittent, step-wise fashion and, hence, travel linearly down thelength of the tube, intermittently expelling uniform amounts oftoothpaste from the nozzle thereof.

The pressure rollers are rotated by a ratchet gear which, in turn, isdriven by a pawl carried by a ratchet lever rotatably mounted at one endabout one of the pressure roller shafts and slidably receiving at theother end a generally vertically extending pressure bar, the latterbeing generally horizontally reciprocated by pivotal movement of a bellcrank. A thrust-receiving, toothbrush receptory dispensing bar islatterally appended to the end of one arm of the bell crank and extendsto a point beneath the tube nozzle, whereupon .pivotal movement of thebell crank by a toothbrush deposits the toothpaste on the brushbristles.

The ratchet lever slidably receives the pressure bar in an openchanneled foot portion which is of sufficiently greater width than thewidth of the pressure bar to provide a delay time between the start ofthe pivotal movement of the bell crank and the subsequent rotation ofthe pressure rollers. The delay time is preferably of sufiicientduration to permit the dispensing bar to move past the tube nozzlebefore material is extruded therefrom so that it is removed only on thereturn stroke of the dispensing bar, thereby eliminating any smearing ofthe material on the tube nozzle or dispensing bar, or bristles of atoothbrush where toothpaste is being dispensed from the tube and thedispensing bar is pivoted with the toothbrush.

The pressure roller shafts are supported only at the ends which passthrough the bearing housings provided in the support plate and are heldin tension against one another by spring clips attached to the oppositeends of the shafts. One of the bearing housings is elongated so as to beof substantially greater width than the diameter of the roller shaftpassing therethrough, whereby upon disengaging the outer spring clip forreloading of the dispensing mechanism, the inner spring clip causes therollers to spread apart at their outer, unsupported ends, therebyfacilitating the removal of the spent tube therefrom and the insertionof a fresh tube between the rollers.

The pressure bar is pivotally mounted at its upper end to the upper armof the bell crank and also at its lower end to an equalizing lever,which, in turn, is pivotally mounted to the mechanism support frame. Theequalizing lever is sufiiciently longer than the upper arm of the bellcrank so as to compensate for the decreased mechanical advantageobtained as the ratchet lever approaches the lower end of the pressurebar. Thus, the ratchet lever is 'otated a constant distance as it slidesdown the pressure ar and, consequently, a uniform quantity of materialis :xpelled from the collapsible tube upon each actuation of hedispensing mechanism.

The dispensing bar laterally appended to the bell crank :xtends throughan arcuate slot in the support frame vhich accommodates the arcual swingof the bar upon aivotal movement of the bell crank. Adjustable stopmeans It the arcuate slot limits the length of are through which he barswings so as to provide a variable, predetermined uantity control on theamount of material dispensed mm the tube.

It will be understood that the foregoing general descripion and thefollowing detailed description as well are :xemplary and explanatory ofthe invention but are not 'estrictive thereof. Thus, while thedispensing mechanism )f this invention is particularly adapted to andwas arimarily designed for use in dispensng toothpaste from I.collapsible tube, the principles underlying the objects )f the inventionare not limited to such usage. However, aince the invention isparticularly adaptable to such usage, 'eference will be made hereinafterthereto in order to grovide an example of a practical and usefulembodiment )f the invention.

The accompanying drawings, referred to herein and :onstituting a parthereof, illustrate the preferred embodinents of invention, and togetherwith the description, ;erve to explain the principles of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIGURE 1 is a fragmentary perspectiveview, partly diagrammatic, of a dispensing mechanism embodying thepresent invention, the view illustrating the mechanism nounted in thewall of a bathroom and utilized to disdense toothpaste from acollapsible tube;

FIGURE 2 is a view in front elevation, partly diagramnatic, taken alongline 2-2 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a view in side elevation, partly diagramrnatic and partly insection, of the dispensing mechanism 3f FIGURE 1, the upper portion ofthe side frame panel deing illustrated broken away to show the ratchetdrive and pressure roller gear mechanism of the invention;

FIGURE 4 is a view in rear elevation, :partly diagrammatic, of thedispensing mechanism of FIGURE 1, the view depicting, in solid lines,the position of the operating levers of the dispensing mechanism at restin the starting position and, in dashed-dotted lines, the position ofthe levers at the end of the forward stroke of the bell crank lever andjust prior to its return to the starting position;

FIGURE 5 is an enlarged perspective view, partly diagrammatic, of thepressure roller support plate of the dispensing mechanism of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 6 is a fragmentary section view, partly in elevation, taken alongline 6-6 ,of FIGURE 5; and

FIGURE 7 is a fragmentary perspective view, partly diagrammatic, of analternative mounting arrangement for the dispensing mechanism of FIGURE1, the view showing the support frame for the dispensing mechanismreleasably mounted to a flat base plate.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring now more particularlyto the embodiments of the invention shown in the accompanying drawings,there is illustrated a dispensing apparatus, indicated generally byreference numeral 1, mounted in a suitable recess in the wall of abathroom, preferably for use in dispensing toothpaste from a collapsibletube, such as is presently commercially available. Advantageously, asillustrated, the wall recess is covered by a hinged door havingtoothbrush holding means mounted to the inner surface thereof. Thedispensing apparatus frame supporting the actual dispensing mechanism,designated generally by reference numeral 2, is slidably received in therecess and held in place by retaining rail 3.

Supporting frame 2 includes a front panel 4, side panels 5, 5a, and topand bottom panels 6, 7, respectively. Advantageously, the back of frame2 is open, although it will be understood that a suitable back panel mayalso be provided if it is desired to have a completely enclosed housingfor the dispensing mechanism.

In accordance with the invention, supporting frame 2 is provided withtrack means which extend generally vertically and parallel to thecollapsible tube carried by the frame.

As here preferably embodied, this track means is formed by providing thefront frame panel 4 with a rectangular slot 8 extending angularly fromthe top of the panel and terminating near the bottom thereof, as bestseen in FIGURE 2. Another slot 9, equal in width to slot 8, extends fromthe top of slot 8 into the top frame panel 6 so as to permit slot 8 tovertically slidably receive a support plate 10 carrying a pair ofpressure rollers 11, 12, more fully described hereinafter.

A tube support plate 13 extends laterally outwardly from front panel 4-at the bottom of slot 8. As here preferably embodied, the outer edge ofsupport plate 13 is formed with a generally V-shaped cut-out 14 forreceiving the nozzle of the collapsible toothpaste tube depicteddiagrammatically at 15, and includes a suitably pivoted clamp 16 forfirmly holding the nozzle in place upon mounting tube 15 on the supportplate.

A second slot 18 extends in an arcuate direction transversely across thelower end of the front frame panel 4 beneath the rectangular slOt 8, foraccommodating the arcual path of travel of a dispensing bar 20, morefully described hereinafter. Arcuate slot 18 also includes adjustablestop means 25 for limiting the distance of travel of dispensing bar 20and, hence, providing a variable, predetermined quantity control on theamount of material dispensed, also more fully described hereinafter.

As previously mentioned, a pair of pressure rollers 11, 12 are carriedby a support plate 10, the latter being mounted so as to freelyvertically slidable in rectangular slot 8. To this end, the generallyvertically extending edges of support plate 10 are each recessed toprovide channeled grooves 26 which slidably receive the edges ofrectangular slot 8.

In accordance with the invention, pressure rollers 11, 12 are mounted soas to be supported at one end only and to be normally urged apart attheir unsupported ends so as to facilitate and simplify the insertion ofthe closed end of an inverted collapsible tube therebetween when loadingthe dispenser mechanism.

To this end, as best seen in FIGURES 5 and 6, support plate 10 isprovided with bearing housings 27, 28, in which the shafts 29, 30 of therespective pressure rollers 11, 12 are journalled, bearing housing 28being transversely elongated so as to be of greater width than the shaft30.

Mounted for rotation about shaft 29 on the back face of support plate 10is ratchet drive lever 32 carrying pawl 33 which, in turn, is suitablyspring-pressed into meshing engagement and serves to drive ratchet gear34 secured to shaft 29 for rotation therewith. A pinion gear 35 is alsosecured to shaft 29 for rotation therewith and, in turn, meshes with andserves to drive pinion gear 36, secured to shaft 30. It will be seen(FIGURE 6) that bearing housing 28 is of greater length than the widthof support plate 10, so as to space pinion gear 36 from support plate 10a distance equal to the combined width of the ratchet lever and gear 32,34, which are mounted to shaft 29.

The ends of the pressure roller shafts 29, 30 are each advantageouslycircumferentially grooved to receive tensioning wire spring clips 38,39, which serve topress the rollers 11, 12 against each other and tolock the pinion gears 35, 36 in meshing engagement. The outer springclip 39 is mounted so as to be easily and quickly removable fromtensioning engagement with rollers 11, 12 and,

to this end, is fixedly rotatably hooked at 40- to shaft 29 whileremovably aflixed to shaft 30 by spreading the clip until the open end41 may be hooked about shaft 30.

It will be understood from the foregoing that the pressure to be exertedbetween the pressure rollers 11, 12 may be selectively determined byvarying the thickness of the wire from which the spring clips 38, 39 areformed. It has been found that a spring clip having the requiredpressure for thoroughly extruding toothpaste from a col lapsible tubemay nevertheless be manually spread apart with ease during the mountingand removal of the clip on the pressure roller shafts.

It will also be apparent from the foregoing that, upon removal of outerspring clip 39 from shaft 30, the pressure rollers 11, 12 are urgedapart at their unsupported ends by the inner spring clip 38, the lattercausing the shaft 30 of pressure roller 12 to pivot in the transverselyelongated bearing housing 28 in a direction away from roller 11. Thespaced distance of the inner spring clip 38 from the support plate 10permits the unsupported ends of pressure rollers 11, 12 to be spreadopen a sufiicient distance for receiving the closed end of thecollapsible toothpaste tube therebetween, facilitating reloading of thedispenser mechanism.

In accordance with the invention, means are provided for driving thepressure rollers in step-wise fashion at variable, predeterminedincrements of rotational distance so that the rollers intermittentlyprogressively move in a linear direction down the length of thecollapsible tube, dispensing uniform amounts of toothpaste therefromthroughout their entire distance of travel.

To this end, as best illustrated in FIGURE 4, the dispensing bar 20 ismounted to the lower end of the free arm 53 of a bell crank 50 pivotallymounted at 51, whereby dispensing bar 20 travels in an arcual pathdefined by the slot 18. A spring 52 hearing against side frame panel andarm 53 biases crank 50 and, consequently, dispensing bar 20 laterallyappended thereto, toward the end of slot 18 nearest the opposite sideframe panel 5a, herein designated the starting position.

A pressure bar 55 is pivotally connected at its upper end to the upperarm 54 of bell crank 50 and is also pivotally connected near its lowerend to an equalizing lever 57, the latter, in turn, being pivotallymounted at 58 to the front frame panel 4. Pressure bar 55 is operativelyassociated with and serves to drive ratchet lever 32 by means of thechanneled foot portion 32a thereof, which slidably receives the pressurebar therewithin.

It will be apparent from the foregoing that, upon exerting a suitableforce or thrust against dispensing bar 20, bell crank 50 pivots aboutpoint 51, causing the dispensing bar to travel in the arcual pathdefined by slot 18. Upon release of the force or thrust applied todispensing bar 20, spring 52 returns crank 50 to the original startingposition. The pivotal movement of crank 50 transmits a generallyhorizontal and slightly vertical reciprocating motion to pressure bar 55which, in turn, imparts a leveraged tangential force to ratchet lever32, driving the latter in a back-and-forth oscillating motion aboutshaft 29. The oscillating motion of ratchet lever 32, in turn,intermittently unidirectionally rotates ratchet gear 34 by means of thepawl 33 to thereby drive the pinion gears 35, 36 and, consequently,pressure rollers 11, 12 in a similar step-wise fashion.

It will be understood that, by means of the freely vertically slidablemounting of the pressure roller support plate in slot 8 and of theratchet lever 32 about pressure bar 55, as the pressure rollers 11, 12rotate they move a corresponding linear distance downwardly on thecollapsible tube 15, expelling a quantity of toothpaste from the tube.

By providing equalizing lever 57, for a given displacement of bell crank50, ratchet lever 32 is displaced a corresponding distance by thepressure bar 55 at any point along its entire length. Hence, the presetquantity of toothpaste to be dispensed from tube at each actuation ofthe dispensing mechanism is uniformly dispensed until the entirecontents of the tube have been expelled. Advantageously, equalizinglever 57 is slightly longer than the upper arm 54 of bell crank 50 so asto compensate for the decreased mechanical advantage obtained as theratchet lever 32 approaches the lower end of pressure bar 55.

Advantageously, and as preferably embodied, pressure rollers 11, 12 aresuitably knurled, as best seen in FIG- URE 2, to insure against slippageas they travel along the collapsible tube. Also advantageously,particularly when the dispensing mechanism is used to dispensetoothpaste onto a toothbrush, indicated diagrammatically at 60, a brushreceptory trough 61 is provided on dispensing bar 20.

In accordance with the invention, the contents of the collapsible tube15 are dispensed completely free of any smearing on the nozzle of thetube and, when used to dispense toothpaste onto a toothbrush, completelyfree of any smearing of the toothpaste on the brush bristles.

To this end, means are provided for delaying the actuation of thefeeding mechanism until the dispensing bar 20 has passed beneath thetube nozzle on its forward, thrust stroke. As here embodied, thisdelaying action is accomplished by enlarging the channel in the ratchetlever foot 32a so as to be of greater width than that of pressure bar55, as illustrated in FIGURE 4. Hence, upon initial forward pivotalmovement of bell crank 50, pressure bar 55 moves to the opposite side ofthe ratchet channel without any corresponding movement in the ratchetlever 32. Upon pressure bar 55 reaching the opposite side of thechannel, whereupon the ratchet lever is rotated and toothpaste begins tobe expelled from the tube, the dispensing bar has moved beyond the tubenozzle.

In addition, it will be seen from the foregoing description that thecontents of collapsible tube 15 are expelled during the forward, thruststroke of dispensing bar 20, and that the arcual path of travel ofdispensing bar 20 creates a substantial clearance between the dispensingbar and tube nozzle as the forward stroke progresses. Thus, where thecontents of the collapsible tube have a viscosity on the order of thatof commercial toothpaste, upon completion of the forward, thrust strokeof dispensing bar 20, a length of toothpaste has been extruded from thecollapsible tube and remains suspended from the tube nozzle. Thereafter,upon release of the forward thrust on the dispensing bar, the extrudedtoothpaste is deposited on the thrust-exerting means, such as toothbrush60, as the dispensing bar is returned to the start ing position byspring 52.

As previously mentioned, arcuate slot 18 includes adjustable stop means25 for limiting the distance of travel of dispensing bar 20 and, hence,providing a variable, predetermined quantity control over the amount ofmaterial dispensed at each acutation of the dispensing mechanism. Ashere embodied, stop means 25 comprises a control knob 62 threadedlyreleasably lockably engaging stop washer 63 carried by a pointer 64slidably received in slot 18. Hence, a variable, predetermined quantityof toothpaste may be dispensed from the tube 15 by threadedly lockingthe control knob 62 to the pointer 64 at the desired location along slot18.

Referring now more particularly to FIGURE 7 of the accompanyingdrawings, there is illustrated an alternative mounting arrangement forthe dispensing mechanism embodied herein, which may be used when it isnot desired to mount the mechanism in a custom-built, recessed bathroomwall unit. As embodied, the alternative mounting arrangement comprises aflat base plate 65, advantageously cut-out along two opposed edges toform upstanding front retaining tabs 66, 67 and formed with a backretaining tab 68 therebetween. Also advantageously, the ends of the backretaining tab 68 are bent over at 69, 70. Thus, the bottom panel 7 ofthe dispensing mechanism upport frame 2 is inserted under tabs 69, 70and held n place on the plate by the retaining tabs 66, 67, 68. n thismanner, the dispensing apparatus may be stored .nd operated, forexample, in the medicine cabinet of L bathroom, without furtherfastening means.

It will be seen from the foregoing that the dispensing nechanism hereindescribed and illustrated accomplishes he stated objects of theinvention. Thus, by driving the )ressure rollers directly and mountingthem for free ertical movement, the mechanism may be quickly and :asilyadapted to collapsible tubes of greatly varying aize, the tube need notbe supported at the upper end hereof and it will not bend or fold orotherwise jam is the pressure rollers travel from its one end to the)ther, and essentially the entire contents of a collapsible :ube areefficiently dispensed without the creation of any wrinkles or pockets.By driving the pressure rollers by neans of a bell crank pivotingthrough an arc and proriding a delayed action in the dispensing motion,where :oothpaste or the like is being dispensed, no material isieposited on the toothbrush during the forward, feed atroke of thecrank, and thus, when picked up on the re- :urn stroke, the material iscleanly and neatly deposited without smearing the material on the tubenozzle or on the bristles of the brush. By mounting one of the pressurerollers in an elongated bearing housing, upon removal of the outerroller tensioning clip, the rollers are urged to spring open at theirouter, unsupported ends, thereby facilitating the insertion of thecollapsible tube therebetween during reloading of the dispensingmechanism. Finally, the equalizing lever causes the pressure bar to bedisplaced horizontally an equal distance over its entire length tothereby rotate the pressure rollers a constant distance and,consequently, dispense the desired, preset amount of material uniformlyfrom the tube until the entire contents thereof have been expelled.

The preceding description and accompanying drawings relate primarily tothe use of the dispensing mechanism of the invention for dispensingtoothpaste from a collapsible tube. However, as previously mentioned, itwill be understood that the dispensing mechanism of the invention is notlimited to such usage, but is equally applicable for use in dispensingany product packed in a collapsible tube and requiring pressure to beexpelled therefrom, such as glues, shampoos, soaps, shaving creams, haircreams, and the like. Also, while the dispensing mechanism of thisinvention is particularly adaptable for use with products having aviscosity such that they will remain suspended from the tube nozzleduring the forward stroke of the dispensing bar to be picked up on thereturn stroke thereof, the invention obviously is not limited to suchusage.

Thus, the invention in its broader aspects is not limited to thespecific embodiments herein shown and descirbed but departures may bemade therefrom without departing from the principles of the inventionand without sacrificing its chief advantages.

What is claimed is: 1. A device for dispensing material from collapsibletubes, comprising:

frame means for supporting a collapsible tube from the nozzle thereof inan inverted, generally vertical position and a pair of pressure rollersadapted to receive the collapsible tube therebetween,

said frame means including track means extending generally parallel tothe collapsible tube; support means freely slidably received on saidtrack means,

said support means inclduing means mounting said pair of pressurerollers for rotation in compression against one another about saidcollapsible tube; drive means for intermittently unidirectionallyrotating said pressure rollers, whereby said rollers travel step-by-stepin a linear direction along the length of the collapsible tube,intermittently expelling the contents out of the tube nozzle,

said drive means including a dispensing bar which normally restsapproximately directly beneath the collapsible tube nozzle and actuatesthe drive means upon being moved through a forward path of travel; and

means for delaying the rotation of said pressure rollers by said drivemeans until said dispensing bar is moved to a point forwardly of saidtube nozzle, whereby material expelled from said tube is removedtherefrom only during the return stroke of said dispensing bar.

2. The device as defined in claim 1, wherein said pressure roller drivemeans further includes:

a bell crank member pivotally mounted to said support frame so as tohave upper and lower pivoting arms,

said dispensing bar extending laterally from the bottom free end of thelower pivoting arm of said bell crank,

an equalizing lever also pivotally mounted to said support frame at oneend thereof,

a pressure bar member pivotally mounted to said upper pivoting arm ofsaid bell crank and the free end of said equalizing lever so as toextend generally parallel to said track means and said collapsible tube,

whereby pivotal movement of said bell crank generally horizontallyreciprocates said pressure bar,

gear means secured to said pressure rollers for rotation therewith, and

ratchet lever means pivotally mounted at one end to said support means,including means for slidably receiving said pressure bar in operativeassociation therewith, whereby horizontal reciprocation of said pressurebar oscillates said ratchet lever means about its pivotal mounting, and

carrying pawl means engaging said gear means,

whereby oscillation thereof serves to unidirectionally drive both saidgear means and said pressure rollers.

3. The device as defined in claim 2, wherein the pivotal 0 length ofsaid equalizing lever is sufiiciently longer than that of the upper armof said Fbell crank so as to compensate for the decreased mechanicaladvantage obtained as the ratchet lever means approaches the lower endof the pressure bar.

4. The device as defined in claim 2, wherein said gear means includes:

a ratchet gear secured to one of said pressure rollers and a pinion gearsecured to each of said pressure rollers, said pinion gears mounted inmeshing engagement with one another, and said pawl means engages saidratchet gear to thereby drive the latter and said pressure rollers uponoscillation of said ratchet lever means.

5. The device as defined in claim 2, wherein said ratchet lever means ismounted for rotation about the pressure roller carrying said ratchetgear, and

the means slidably receiving said pressure bar in operative associationwith said ratchet lever means comprises an open channel slot formed inthe free end of said ratchet lever means,

whereby said ratchet lever means pivots about said pressure roller uponengagement of said pressure bar with a side wall of said channel slot.

6. The device as defined in claim 5, wherein the width of said channelslot in said ratchet lever means is sufficiently greater than that ofsaid pressure bar so that said dispensing bar moves to a point forwardlyof the c0llapsible tube nozzle before said pressure bar engages the sidewall of said channel slot.

7. The device as defined in claim 1, including adjustable means forregulating the length of the forward stroke of said dispensing bar,whereby a variable, predetermined quantity of material is dipsensed fromthe collapsible tube upon each actuation of the dispensing bar.

8. The device as defined in claim 7, wherein said frame means includesslot means for accommodating the path of travel of said dispensing bar,and

said adjustable means comprises stop means releasably fixedly mounted insaid slot means.

9. The device as defined in claim 1, wherein said means mounting saidpressure rollers includes means normally urging the rollers apart at oneend thereof to thereby facilitate the removal of a spent tube therefromand the insertion of a fresh tube therebetween.

10. The device as defined in claim 9, wherein the mounting means forsaid pair of pressure rollers includes:

a mounting shaft extending axially from each end of each of saidpressure rollers;

bearing housing means journalling one of said mounting shafts of each ofsaid pressure rollers in said support means, the other of said mountingshafts of each of said pressure rollers being unsupported; one of saidbearing housing means having a width greater than the diameter of saidmounting shafts; and tensioning means removably fixedly secured betweenthe unsupported mounting shafts of said pressure rollers;

whereby, upon removal of said tensioning means from the unsupported endsof the pressure roller mounting shafts, the pressure roller jounalled inthe enlarged bearing housing means is urged away from the other pressureroller by the tensioning means remaining secured to the pressure rollermounting shafts.

11. The device as defined in claim 1, wherein said frame means furtherincludes removable base plate means adapted to mount the device inposition for use.

12. A device for dispensing commercial toothpaste from a collapsibletube, comprising:

frame means for supporting the collapsible tube from the nozzle thereofin an inverted, generally vertical position and a pair of pressurerollers adapted to receive the collapsible tube therebetween,

said frame means including slot means extending generally parallel tosaid collapsible tube; support means freely slidably received in saidslot means,

said support means including means mounting said pair of pressurerollers for rotation in compression against one another about saidcollapsible tube,

drive means for intermittently unidirectionally rotating said pressurerollers, whereby said rollers travel step-by-step in a linear directionalong the length of the collapsible tube, intermittently expellingtoothpaste out of the tube nozzle.

said drive means including a dispensing bar which normally restsapproximately directly beneath the collapsible tube nozzle and actuatesthe drive means upon being pivoted through a forward arcual path oftravel, said dispensing bar including toothbrush receptory means,whereby said bar may be pivoted by exerting a forward thrust on atoothbrush placed in said receptory means; and means for delaying therotation of said pressure rollers by said drive means for a timesuflicient to permit said dispensing bar to be pivoted to a pointforwardly of said tube nozzle; whereby toothpaste is expelled from saidtube on the forward stroke of said dispensing bar, remains suspendedfrom the tube nozzle at the end of said forward stroke, and is depositedon the toothbrush during the return stroke of said dispensing bar to itsnormal rest position. 13. A method for dispensing commercial toothpasteor the like from collapsible tubes, comprising:

positioning a collapsible tube in an inverted, generally verticalposition; supporting a pair of pressure rollers for free, generallyvertical movement together in compressed relationship to one another;placing the closed end of said collapsible tube between said pair ofpressure rollers; providing a dispenisng bar normally at restapproximately directly beneath the nozzle of said collapsible tube;intermittently unidirectionally rotating said pressure rollers by adriving mechanism actuated by forward movement of said dispensing bar,whereby said rollers travel step-by-step in a linear direction along thelength of said collapsible tube, intermittently expelling the contentsout of the tube nozzle; and delaying the rotation of said pressurerollers by said driving mechanism until said dispensing bar is moved toa point forwardly of said tube nozzle, whereby material expelled fromsaid tube is removed therefrom only during the return stroke of saiddispensing bar.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,563,733 8/1951 Meczelski 222102STANLEY H. TOLLBERG, Primary Examiner

